Milano-San Remo, as it happened: Van der Poel denies in-form Pogacar to take special win

With the Passo del Turchino still the best part of 60km away, the race is locked in stalemate with the break riding 2'45" clear of the peloton. They have passed through Tortona and continue along the flat plain.

For many watching, nothing is really happening. And that's true when it comes to action that will have a huge say in the outcome of this race. But every pedal stroke in Milano-San Remo matters. You need this seemingly relentless build-up in order for the finale to be as explosive and predictable as it always is. No one knows how their body will react after almost 300km in the saddle - that's why it's not always the best climber who goes over the top of the Poggio in pole position, or the fastest finisher who crosses the line on the via Roma ahead of everyone else. So stick with us during these dull moments - because it all plays into the kind of race that will unravel before our eyes later this afternoon.

The average speed so far today is 46.2kmph - which goes to show just how fast they're going despite it all looking like a pleasant coffee ride in the sun to us viewers. The next town is Tortona, which is where the great Fausto Coppi used to live.

The tempo-setting on the front of the peloton has reduced the gap of the nine leaders to 2'40" in the Italian sunshine. Sometimes you see the breakaway stretch out a lead of pushing 10 minutes ahead of the Turchino, so that's quite telling. Van Emden and Mosca are, of course, working to pave the way for their respective leaders - Wout van Aert and Mads Pedersen. The Belgian won MSR in 2020 and came third in 2021, whereas the Dane finished sixth last year in his only previous appearance in La Primavera.

There's been talk of Tadej Pogacar going with an early move on the Cipressa. But with 30km still to ride, that would be a surprise. The more likely scenario - the one we have become accustomed to in recent years - is a thinning out on the Tre Capi climbs, a hefty tempo on the Cipressa to drop many of the sprinters and split the pack, a huge shake-out on the Poggio to drop any deadwood or puncheurs on a bad day. And then it's a free for all. Last year Mohoric did his thing on the descent; the year before Stuyven rolled the dice early despite a stellar group behind; the years before that Van Aert and Alaphilippe traded places after going clear; and the year before that was the last Italian winner, when Vincenzo Nibali held a gap over the top of the Poggio and never got caught despite Caleb Ewan's fast finish on the via Roma.

It's been a while since we've had a sprint winner in what was once known as "The Sprinter's Classic". That's probably the way the race had been ridden seems to have changed in recent years with so much coming down to a fast and explosive ascent of the Poggio. Of course, descending is another way you can win this - as shown last year by Mohoric - or you can anticipate the sprint and go with a long move like Jasper Stuyven two years ago. Then there's the route which hasn't happened for many many years: an early attack on the Cipressa or the Tre Capi climbs. Long gone are the days when a move on the Passo del Turchino could make the difference. You have to go back to Fausto Coppi for an example of that, I think.

The two riders in the initial move today - Tonelli and Maestri - have 13 Milano-San Remo starts between them, including today. The only other rider in this breakaway to have ridden this race before is Samuele Rivi, just the once. The remaining six riders are all making their debut. The gap is up to just over three minutes as Jos van Emden (Jumbo-Visma) and Jacopo Mosca (Trek-Segafredo) set the tempo on the front of the peloton.

Milano-San Remo may well have been the only of cycling's five Monuments to have eluded Philippe Gilbert, but he's here on hand to deliver his verdict on the finale with this recon ride video.

Hello... now this is interesting... Jos van Emden (Jumbo-Visma) inadvertently caused a bit of a split on the front of the bunch while going through a roundabout. A big-name rider in Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates) joins him along with riders from Bahrain, Team DSM, Trek-Segafredo and Alpecin - riders who all have leaders with aspirations today - which means it's a half-hearted affair. In fact, they're all grinning because they've found themselves in this peculiar position without really pushing for it. And they continue as if in jest, knowing all too well that it will come to nothing. As Robbie McEwen says in the commentary box: "It's the peloton's version of a dad joke."

Those two groups have come together so we have nine riders out now. They are: Alexandr Riabushenko (Astana-Qazaqstan), Mirco Maestri and Samuele Rivi (EOLO-Kometa), Filippo Magli and Alessandro Tonelli (Green Project-Bardiani CSF-Faizane), Negasi Haylu Abrega (Q36.5 Pro Cycling), Alexandre Balmer and Jan Maas (Jayco-AlUlA) and Alois Charrin (Tudor Pro Cycling). The gap is around two minutes.

The race started under blue skies and sunshine in Abbiategrasso, 20km west of Milan. It's currently 12 degrees with the temperature set to rise to around 16 degrees ahead of the finish in San Remo in around seven hours. The riders will leave Lombardy soon and cross Piedmont before they enter Liguria after the Passo del Turchino and drop down to the coast.

And this looks like it will be the day's break... The peloton shows no interest in reeling them in and that has allowed the escapees to open up a decent gap. The seven chasers will soon join the two leaders to form a nine-man move.

Italian duo Mirco Maestri (EOLO-Kometa) and Alessandro Tonelli (Green Project-Bardiani CSF-Faizane) are first to open up a gap after a rider from Tudor Pro Cycling made an initial dig.

The peloton has come to a complete standstill at kilometre zero before the official start. Come to think of it, Tadaj Pogacar looks to have some scuffing on his jersey so perhaps he's even taken a tumble in the neutral zone. He's all smiles and clearly no worse off for it. Right, let's go - the flag is waved and the attacks rain down from the outset. The race is on...

"We have a really strong team and a big chance of going for the race victory. I just hope everything goes in order. The last 50km of this race are really intense. The concentration must be high. Uphill you need really good legs - among the best legs in the world - and of course downhill you need to be really fast too. Today is no different. You need to be good at everything and have a good final."

Asked whether he may attack earlier, perhaps on the Cipressa, Pogacar laughed: "No, I think there's no other chance than the Poggio. It would be nice to try on the Cipressa but I think it would be too hard. It's all about fun. Today I know we can do good results but I don't want to put myself under pressure because the season had already started well, I'm in good shape, and in this race you need everything to go perfectly."

The camera is currently trained on Mathieu van der Poel as he soft-pedals through the neutral zone ahead of the official kilometre zero start today. The Dutchman will be one of the big favourites today. Last year, he made his first appearance of the year here and managed to take third place. This year he's come 15th at Strade Bianche before conditioning his legs at Tirreno-Adriatico. Could things start to click for the Alpecin-Deceuninck leader today?

The Slovenian made his decisive move on the descent of the Poggio 12 months ago, riding clear of compatriot Pogacar and never looking back after using a seat dropper post - and massive cojones - to steal a march over his rivals. Watch the highlights of the 2022 race below before today's peloton rolls out...

Starting outside Milan in the suburb of Abbiategrasso for the first time, the 294km race follows an otherwise traditional route that features the long slog up the Passo del Turchino before dropping down to the Ligurian coast just north of Genoa. The infamous Tre Capi climbs – the Mele, Cervo and Berta – then usher in the business end of proceedings ahead of the tried and tested Cipressa-Poggio combo of climbs. Of course, this is followed by the small matter of the twisting and technical descent that spirits the riders down through the glasshouses at breakneck speed ahead of the finish on San Remo’s via Roma. It was on the descent that Matej Mohoric made his move – using that now-famous dropper seat post – last year. But surely lightening won’t strike twice…